Pinterest Ain’t Yo Dentist

When patients ask me about whitening I always tell them about our office bleaching and a couple of whitening toothpastes followed by “What have you seen on your latest pinterest search?” There is always some new at home whitening remedy and 99% of the time I find myself cringing at the screen saying “WHAT?!?!” Today’s blog is all about the pinterest whitening myths, and if you’ve attempted some of these remedies, it’s okay you didn’t know any better, no judgement my friend…unless you continue to do them 😉

Lemon and Baking Soda

If you see the word ‘lemon’ and ‘teeth’ in the same sentence it will never end well. A healthy mouth will have a neutral ph of 7, anything lower than 5 or 6 and our teeth start to weaken. Lemons have a ph of roughly 2-2.6 YIKES. Our enamel should never be exposed to so much acidity. Rubbing lemons all over our enamel is a no go fo sho!

Crushed Strawberry Paste

While strawberries aren’t as acidic as lemons, they still have a ph that will give your teeth nightmares (3-3.9). In addition to acidity, strawberries also have those tiny little seeds. The strawberry acid weakens the enamel and the seeds are scratching that weak surface. Acidic AND abrasive, it’s a double whammy.

Aluminum foil – salt, baking soda, toothpaste

OUCH! Just thinking about aluminum foil on your teeth should be enough to make you want to slam your laptop shut. NEXT

Activated Charcoal

I’m sure you’ve seen the black teeth that magically turn white after you rinse. Activated charcoal, even after crunching into a powder, is SO abrasive. Using activated charcoal that you bought from the drug store will only strip away your teeth without supplying your enamel with any “nutrients.” If you want to try out the charcoal fad AND keep a healthy smile then you can try this new product!

If you’ve been considering any of these home remedies then don’t. I’ve been told “beauty is pain” but in this case it doesn’t have to be!! Come to Coulter Family Dentistry and let us give you a beautiful white smile the safe way.